moon rising

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

Chapter Nine

After narrowly escaping getting burnt to a crisp by a dragon, the four agree to meet in the cafeteria for breakfast. After the girls change out of their pajamas, and the boys put some clothes on other than their underwear. The cafeteria was mostly filled with werewolves, some of which hadn't even bothered to put some clothes on. And there wasn't a teacher in sight to discipline them. And the students that weren't werewolves were still in their sleep wear, and looked tired. Probably still feeling the effects of McKayla's sleep spell from last night. Or they were just tired. The fact that half the students hadn't shown up for breakfast on the same day classes were cancelled probably wasn't a coincidence.

The four make their way over to the buffet line, each fixing themselves a plate. Kira finishes first, walking off to find a table after announcing her intention to do so. Just after finding a table, she goes to sit down, only for someone to bump into her. Fortunately, her magic reflexes kick in, floating her tray safely onto the table without spilling any food. She looks at the person who had bumped into her, recognizing her as Lorelei. Of the few vampires at Hawkins, she was one of the more level headed of them. Which still wasn't saying a lot.

"Watch your step." Lorelei says, already starting to walk away.

"I'm sorry, but you bumped into me."

Lorelei's face twists in anger, before her necklace glows. She takes a deep breath, grabbing the pendant with her hand. "Cool necklace."

Lorelei glared at her, as if she'd just insulted her. She turns around, walking out of the cafeteria. Some other vampires who had been sitting at a table, stood up, following Lorelei out. Kira thinks to herself, 'what was that about?' She doesn't even notice Trent and Krista come up behind her. "What are you looking at?"

She jumps, turning around to face Trent and Krista. "Trent, you scared me."

"Hey, I told him not to do it. I know better than anyone how you get when you're thinking hard." Krista takes a seat at the table. Kira makes a face as she takes a seat across from her friend. Trent takes a seat next to her.

"Where's Conner? Is he still in line?"

"He was right behind us." Krista looks behind her, and they do the same. Conner's standing at the buffet line flirting with a girl. Krista sighs, putting her fork down. "I'll go get him."

Krista gets up from the table, walking over to the womanizing wolf. Trent and Kira both shake their heads, sharing a laugh. Conner and Krista begin to fight as the girl he'd been flirting with takes this as her cue to leave. "Should we stop them?"

"No. As long as they're not shouting, we shouldn't do anything."

"So… what were you thinking about?"

"It's nothing." She wasn't even sure it was something herself. And vampires were nothing if not strange creatures.

"How many times has dismissing something as nothing ever worked in our favor?"

Kira doesn't immediately respond, and she hates to admit that he has a point. "You remember what happened in the woods right before the full moon? With the vampire Lorelei?"

"Yeah." He says slowly.

She bites her lip, but before she can think of how to word what she's about to say, Krista returns to the table with Conner. Conner mumbles under his breath, "you just had to ruin my fun, didn't you?"

"What was that?" Krista says smiling, but her tone is laced with 'say that again and I'll kill you.'

"Nothing!"

Kira and Trent both laugh, the conversation they'd been having moments earlier already forgotten.

"Do you believe McKayla?" Kat settles in on the couch, trying to get comfortable.

"Under any other circumstances, I wouldn't. But the fact that there was a dragon attack so soon after McKayla's. And the book showing up here." He sighs. "It's too much of a coincidence."

Kat sighs, shifting her seating position. "So the medallion is here. What do we do now?"

"We?" He stands up from his desk, looking at her in confusion.

"Don't give me that look. Just because I'm pregnant, doesn't mean I'm completely useless." She changes her position again.

"I'm not saying that you are, but you yourself said that you aren't going to be yourself."

"Going on a recruiting mission outside the portal, and looking for a medallion right on campus are not the same thing." She changes position again.

"A medallion with untold powers, and is being hunted by fuck knows how many power-hungry supernatural beings." She makes a face, clearly having no argument. She changes her position for the fourth time. "Are you okay? That's the fourth time you've changed positions."

"I'm just having a hard time getting comfortable on this couch." She waves her hand, a pillow appearing in it. "Help me put this behind my back, will you?"

He walks over, taking the pillow from her hand. She leans forward, allowing him to place the pillow behind her back. She leans back, changing positions one last time. "Comfy?"

She makes a noise of content, closing her eyes. He laughs, "I'll take that as a yes."

"Tommy-" the door opens, and Rocky enters the office. He looks at the two of them, "oh, am I interrupting something?"

"No. Are they here yet?" He gets to his feet, straightening his clothes.

"Yeah. They're downstairs in the lounge." Rocky leaves, and Tommy follows shortly after him. Jason and Kim are waiting patiently in the lounge for him.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice, guys."

"Of course. Besides, you did owe us a favor." Jason says.

"Right."

He leads them down into the basement, where the cell bars were strewn across the floor, with smoke coming off them. "What the hell?"

The cell itself looked completely undisturbed, other than the fact that the door had been burned off. And sure enough, McKayla was nowhere in sight.